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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After long hinting that he might wake up one day and suddenly decide to leave behind the sport he had put nearly his entire life into, Jerry Sloan did just that Thursday.
News that Sloan and his longtime friend and assistant coach, Phil Johnson were quitting first emerged early Thursday, after a Wednesday night home loss to the Chicago Bulls that featured an unusual closed-door postgame meeting that included Sloan, General Manager Kevin O'Connor and team owner Greg Miller. By midafternoon, the 68-year-old Sloan announced his resignation at an emotional news conference at the Jazz's practice facility.
Fighting back tears and choking up several times, the Hall of Fame coach, who ranks No. 3 on the NBA's all-time wins list with 1,221 career victories, acknowledged that publicly giving up basketball was much more difficult than he imagined.
But after contemplating the idea during the days leading up to his decision, the only head coach Utah has known since 1988 knew that his 28-year run with the family owned, small-market organization had finally come to an end.
"I've been blessed," said Sloan, who served as a head coach, assistant and scout with the Jazz. "Today's a new day. I'll get this over with, and I know I'm going to feel much better."
Sloan ended his 45 years in the NBA as the longest-tenured coach in professional sports. He guided Utah to 17 consecutive winning seasons (1988-2004), 20 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two NBA Finals appearances.
Sloan leaves the game having never won an NBA title or being named Coach of the Year. But he also walks away with no regrets.
"When it was all said and done, it was just a matter of me deciding it was time for me to leave," Sloan said. "Not make a big deal out of that. I try not to make a big deal out of most things, anyway."
Johnson's career has long been tied to that of Sloan. He served 23 years as Sloan's assistant, and also coached Sloan when he was with the Chicago Bulls.
Johnson acknowledged the obvious Thursday: Once Sloan left, he was gone, too.
"It's an experience that not many people have because we have been here for such a long time," Johnson said. "So many relationships get built over that time. In this business, you can be someplace for two years and be gone. Very few relationships are built through the press, the fans, the ownership and the people you work with. … Most of all, I'm thankful for Jerry Sloan."
Seventh-year assistant Tyrone Corbin was immediately named as Sloan's replacement. He has yet to sign a contract with the team, and his ability to move an inconsistent 31-23 squad forward one that has gone from exceeding initial expectations to suddenly fighting for a Western Conference playoff spot is expected to be evaluated at the end of the season.
However, the former Jazzman and 16-year NBA player has a strong relationship with many of the athletes whom he will now lead. He is also viewed by key members of the organization as a strong symbol of a fresh start after relations between Sloan and his players particularly All-Star point guard Deron Williams had deteriorated.
"It's a great opportunity for guys to rally around the moment of the change. It's a new slate for everybody," Corbin said. "We'll just go from where we are. There's no history with me as a head coach and them as my players. So they are players for the Utah Jazz, but I am a different guy."
A lengthy postgame discussion Wednesday involving Sloan, O'Connor and Miller one that followed Utah's tough 91-86 home loss to the Bulls was the tipping point in Sloan's decision. But Sloan, who coached one of the league's all-time duos in John Stockton and Karl Malone and constantly balanced an overwhelming devotion to the game with a simple love of quiet farm life, had struggled throughout the season. On Thursday, he acknowledged having a lack of energy and ability to deal with some of the built-in hassles of the modern game.
To Sloan and the Jazz, the moment had arrived to pass the torch to Corbin.
"It's time that somebody else gets a chance," said Sloan, who signed a one-year extension with the Jazz last November. "Ty's a wonderful guy, and he'll do a great job coaching. We'd been hoping that he'd get the opportunity to be a coach here at one time. Now, let's move forward."
Six-year assistant Scott Layden will remain on Corbin's staff, while current Jazz shooting coach Jeff Hornacek is expected to be promoted to assistant. Corbin plans to add one more coach to replace Johnson. But he acknowledged that he barely had time to process the news of Sloan's departure, let alone figure out how Utah will handle Phoenix on Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Corbin doesn't plan to alter the Jazz's starting lineup. But he will likely implement small changes before conducting an overall evaluation of Utah's roster and the team's needs as it approaches the stretch run of the 2010-11 season.
"We're going to scrap it up and go back to work and try and get this thing back together," Corbin said. "Because we took a blow."
The hit was evident throughout the news conference. Everyone from Sloan and Johnson to team President Randy Rigby and owner Gail Miller fought back tears, while Corbin spent the majority of the media event blankly staring downward.
Corbin didn't learn that he would become the Jazz's new head coach until noon, after which he immediately went to lunch with Williams, the team's leader. Meanwhile, O'Connor said that the organization desperately attempted to convince Sloan and Johnson that they should remain in their highly respected positions until 10 minutes before the news conference began.
But while Sloan, in particular, has rocklike ties to the NBA, the Jazz and the regional community, Miller asserted that the team he once coached must now move forward.
Miller does not want Corbin to attempt to simply slip into Sloan's shoes. Instead, he must stand on Sloan's shoulders.
"I think basketball has changed a lot in the time that we've owned [the team]," Miller said. "We've seen a lot of players come and go. But we've had the same coaches. And we need to remember that: Players do come and go, but the franchise will remain here, and we will put our full support behind you."
The quick-witted Sloan couldn't leave without giving Corbin a final piece of advice, though.
"Now they can holler at you," he said, smiling.
Twitter: tribjazz
Check The Tribune's Jazz Notes blog at sltrib.com/Blogs/jazznotes for exclusive news, interviews, video and analysis.
Tribute to Sloan
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BACKPACK STYLE The Backpack Model features padded backpack straps on one side of the cover, and a large pocket for music on the other side, handles, and adjustable/removable shoulder straps. |
4 layer insulating system |
To provide maximum thermal and moisture protection, Altieri case covers are constructed from tough, water-resistant black nylon for the outer shell, and an insulated liner. This unique four-layer insulating material is designed to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain during summer. Two thermal layers, a plastic moisture barrier, heat reflecting mylar®, plus a smart canvas coating combine to pad and insulate delicate woodwind instruments and their cases from the elements. Heavy duty zippers, sturdy nylon straps and high quality fasteners |

subset: commoncrawl


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"About 120 protesters outside Mullingar station Ming Flanagan, Maura Harrington, etc. Supporting McCabe. M" - Ex-Garda Commissioner Callinan
"You can judge a man by his friends" Brian Purcell - SG of Dept of Justice
"Some shower Brian" Callinan
An Taisce settles with State and leaves community to defend Sruwaddacon
On Tuesday 15th November, An Taisce board member Attracta Uí Bhroin travelled to Belmullet Civic Centre to defend the withdrawal of An Taisce's legal challenges to the validity of consents for the Corrib Gas project. An Taisce have claimed that their settlement is a 'victory for the environment' despite the fact that the State remains in breach of European environmental directives in proceeding with the Corrib project. The next day campaigners stopped Shell's peat haulage outside Bellanaboy refinery site to demonstrate that despite An Taisce settling with the State, local campaigners will continue to defend the safety of the community.
Stopping Shell's haulage outside the refinery at Bellanaboy
On Tuesday night over sixty members of the local community listened to Uí Bhroin attempt to defend An Taisce's settlement the Corrib judicial review cases with the State. Uí Bhroin argued that An Taisce had always been clear that it was taking the case to improve government accountability for other communities in the future, rather than to save Corrib. This was challenged by local residents who had attended An Taisce's previous meeting in Belmullet in which An Taisce had sought to explain their position and raise money from the people in the affected area to cover An Taisce's legal expenses.
Local campaigners speaking at the meeting unanimously condemned An Taisce's settlement and also the environmental organisation's misleading communications with the community prior to the court case. When Uí Bhroin contended that An Taisce had made it clear to the community that the case would not help to make Corrib safe, one Pobal le Chéile member responded that 'I don't accept that that was presented clearly to us, when the initial presentation for fundraising was made, prior to the judicial review being sought. I was present at the time and I decided to contribute as a result of the presentation. I can tell you, the impression that was given to me is at variance with what you are presenting now as the goals of An Taisce.'
Interestingly Uí Bhroin was not at liberty to disclose the exact content or document which is the settlement between An Taisce and the State. Uí Bhroin claimed that the settlement consists of four main points; An Taisce's withdrawal of the legal challenges, the establishment of an environmental law implementation group, a sum of money to contribute to An Taisce's legal costs, and a statement which was read in court. Local residents questioned the settlement, asking 'is the settlement to which Charles Stanley Smith referred and on which basis as these cases were dropped, is there a written document which can be called a settlement and which we could see?'. After a very long pause Uí Bhroin conceded that 'There is a document, but I'm not sure that you can see it.'
Local campaigners also questioned Uí Bhroin about the lack of guarantees in the settlement and the nature of the 'implementation group' and established that there are as yet no terms of reference or confirmed membership list of this group.
The community members strongly queried why An Taisce had come down to Mayo in the first place to ask people to donate money to this case if they had always known that it would not help the community's efforts to ensure the Corrib project is done safely. Uí Bhroin mentioned that the settlement included payment of An Taisce's legal expenses by the State. She explained that if An Taisce now emerged from the case with a net surplus, that local people who had donated money for legal expenses would be entitled to a refund. Uí Bhroin was unclear about when and how this would happen but suggested that local residents requiring this refund should contact An Taisce.
Towards the close of the three hour meeting many Erris residents explained in strong terms what this settlement, alongside the corruption and incompetence of the organs of the State now mean for them and for the community. As one resident asked Uí Bhroin to stop defending An Taisce and condemned their failure act much earlier on the destruction being caused by Corrib,
"An Taisce should disband immediately. And let them not ever come pass Foxford or wherever they like to come. Don't let them come into this area. Because we put our faith in them. Their time to come was in Glengad when they started killing sand martins, destroying the sand dunes. Where were they then? And we were begging for them to come down. The National Parks and Wildlife came down, Denis Strong came down, and there's witnesses here, and told us, 'it's completely wrong' he says, 'but our hands our tied'. Well, would someone loosen someone's hands before it's too late. Because this is what's leaving us in this room tonight: corruption and filth and dirt that's going on for the twenty years. Until someone says stop, before it's too late."
"Ye all know Shell are capable of doing and ye all know Shell's record. Do you think we'd be out stopping them or trying to stop them but for we have their record and all their explosions and everything else? And it going right beside us. They condemned Sruwaddacon Bay eight years ago and now they are going in to destroy it and do what they like with it. And your agreement to us is no good whatsoever. We want the thing done right. We don't want it stopped. We want it stopped where they are doing it definitely, and we'll stop it with the help of God. …"
"We'll have to fight for another day, the whole community. Ye might settle for money with them, but we are not going to."
The next morning, peat extraction trucks were spotted for the first time travelling from the Aughoose compound to the Srahmore peat deposition site in Bangor Erris. Shell's use of these very large trucks signals the start of their attempts to remove peat from Aughoose and haul stone in order to begin the process of tunneling through Sruwaddacon estuary.
Shell plan up to 475 truck movements a day through the affected route and villages in this period of construction. Members of the local community and Rossport Solidarity Camp responded by gathering at 12.30pm outside the Bellanaboy refinery to show their continuing opposition to the project. A peat truck was stopped at 12.45pm, as three campaigners climbed inside. A fourth campaigner locked on underneath the lorry at 2.30pm. With campaigners occupying the peat truck, local residents recorded that ten further trucks were prevented from either leaving the Aughoose compound and or leaving the refinery. The peat lorry blocked all Shell trucks to and from the Aughoose compound until 3.20pm.
Last Friday over 80 local residents and supporters came to Bellanaboy to demonstrate their opposition and honour eleven years of resistance. Banners were hung at the gates of Bellanaboy gas refinery which stated that the State is violating the European habitats directives in proceeding with the Corrib project. Local campaigners are asking people to travel to Erris and help to defend the safety of this community and place.


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Kids II Recalls Baby Einstein Activity Jumpers Due to Impact Hazard; Sun Toy Can Snap Backward
Recall Details
In conjunction with
About 400,000 and 8,500 in Canada
This recall includes Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumpers with model number 90564. The model number can be found on a tag attached to the underside of the seat. These stationary activity centers have a support seat covered in blue fabric attached to a large white metal frame and include a variety of brightly colored toys surrounding the seat. The yellow sun toy is attached to the seat frame on a flexible stalk with either three or five brightly colored rings. A date code is located in the lower right corner of the sewn in label on the back of the blue seat pad. The following date codes, indicating a manufacture date prior to November 2011, are included in the recall: OD0, OE0, OF0, OG0, OH0, OI0, OJ0, OK0, OL0, OA1, OB1, OC1, OD1, OE1, OF1, OG1, OH1, OI1, OJ1 and OK1.
The firm has received 100 reports of incidents including 61 injuries. Reported injuries include bruises, lacerations to the face, a 7-month-old boy who sustained a lineal skull fracture and a chipped tooth to an adult.
Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Kids II for a replacement toy attachment.
Sold at
Target, Toys R Us and other retails stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com between May 2010 and May 2013 for about $90.
Kids II Inc., of Atlanta, Ga.
Manufactured in


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Pasadena is generally attributed as the birthplace of the bungalow court, a form of multi-family housing that involved groupings of small one-story individual houses or duplexes oriented around a common landscaped courtyard, usually on one property. Developed from 1909 through 1942, bungalow courts evolved from transient, seasonal use to permanent residences and appeared in many architectural styles. Having a wide variety of character and appearance, the city's inventory of bungalow courts is significant as a regional type of low-density multi-family housing that combined the individual privacy of a single residence with shared community space.
The city's first bungalow court was St. Francis Court (photo above), designed by Sylvanus Marston and built in 1909. This court, on the north side of East Colorado Boulevard at the current intersection of North Oak Knoll Avenue, was made up of 11 bungalows, each with its own garden and with a driveway through the center. The bungalows had between one and three bedrooms, modern conveniences, and high- quality detailing common in the Arts and Crafts period. An Arroyo stone and brick gateway was at the entrance (the court was disassembled and partially relocated to make way for the extension of Oak Knoll north to Union Street). Although the original configuration of St. Francis Court has been lost, five of the original bungalows survive as a grouping on individual lots at the corner of South Catalina Avenue and Cornell Road. Interestingly, in his book American Bungalow Style, architectural historian Robert Winter notes that Charles Sumner Greene, of the acclaimed architectural firm of Greene & Greene, said of the bungalow court, "This is a good example of what not to do." It was his opinion that courts had "no other reason for being than that of making money for the investor."
In Pasadena, the oldest bungalow court retaining its original configuration and location is Bowen Court (above) at 539 East Villa Street. Gartz Court (above), at 745 North Pasadena Avenue (top right), is one year older but is not in its original location. Bowen Court was built in 1911 and designed by Arthur & Alfred Heineman, who in 1925, developed the bungalow court concept into the first "mo-tel," the Milestone Mo-tel in San Luis Obispo. The Heinemans also designed a number of large houses in the city including the Freeman House at 1330 Hillcrest Avenue. Bowen Court is the city's largest bungalow court with 23 buildings, including a mix of single units and duplexes, on a one-and-one half acre site. The court features a rustic building, once called the "tea room," with a thatched roof (since replaced) and log railings (some of which still exist). Today, the court's mature landscaping creates a rustic wooded oasis in the middle of an eclectic neighborhood of single- and multi-family houses.
Bungalow courts continued to be developed until World War II, after which denser garden apartments, two-story connected buildings oriented around a courtyard first developed in the late-1920's, became more prevalent (see photos of two prominent examples above). The period of a bungalow court's construction is usually detected by the architectural style of the individual bungalows. Early courts, such as those pictured above, were designed in the Craftsman style; courts built in the 1920's and early 1930's were mostly in period-revival styles such as Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival or English Cottage Revival; and courts built in the late 1930's and early 1940's were generally in the Minimal Traditional style. There is even one court, at 754 S. Marengo Avenue, in the Art Deco style. Some examples are shown to the right.
As a testament to the importance of the bungalow court, and later courtyard apartments, to the city's urban form, the City Council has adopted requirements that all new multi-family residential projects outside of the downtown area be oriented around a landscaped courtyard.
The City has studied bungalow courts on three different occasions. The first, in 1983, documented the significance of bungalow courts and several courts for listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This study was updated in 1994 with additional properties listed in the National Register, the period of significance extended to 1942, and graphic representation of court configurations. In 2010, the city documented and evaluated all remaining bungalow courts, with the following results:
- There are 112 bungalow courts in Pasadena;
- 43 have a historic designation;
- 48 are eligible for historic designation but are currently undesignated;
- 21 are ineligible for historic designation because they have been altered since they were originally constructed; and
- 13 properties require further study to determine if they are, in fact, bungalow courts and qualify for a historic designation.
To view bungalow court listings in the city's historical resources database, click here to open our database of historic properties. Then, under the "Search by Property" heading, select "Bungalow Courts" from the pull-down menu in the "context" field and click "Search Property." The database will list properties identified as bungalow courts; click a listing to open the record and click the "maps and photos" link within the record to view larger photos of each property. The largest concentration of bungalow courts in the city is on South Marengo Avenue between East California Boulevard and Glenarm Street. There are nine courts in this area at the following addresses:


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01 Apr 2004 Elitist "Environmental Justice" Bad News for Minorities
Environmentalists like playing the race card, but they make a dreadful mistake.
They don't play with a full deck.
"Environmental justice" is a term green activists use to demonize businesses and complain that the government isn't doing enough to help minorities. Their premise is simple: They believe businesses are using political power to unfairly put polluting factories predominately in minority neighborhoods.
The problem: These green groups aren't helping minorities. In fact, the regulations that come as a result of their agenda cause harm.
A clean environment is important, but so are a job and a home. The environmentalist agenda is often pitted against the bread-and-butter issues facing most Americans. Even when green activists invoke compassion for downtrodden minorities, their policies perpetuate poverty.
Global warming is a good example of environmentalist absurdity. They support regulating American industry to reduce the emission of alleged "greenhouse gases" that may or may not be resulting in a dramatic heating of the atmosphere (there's no conclusive proof of this theory, and many reputable scientists scoff at the greens' scare stories).
Environmentalist support of the Kyoto Protocol, a UN plan to "reduce" global warming, reveals a perverse commitment to minority well-being. According to a study commissioned by the National Black Chamber of Commerce and other minority organizations, the Kyoto Protocol could make approximately 864,000 blacks and 511,000 Hispanics jobless in the United States while reducing the wages of those minorities still working by about ten percent. Other studies predict gas prices would rise another 66 cents a gallon, electricity bills would rise almost $2,000 a year and a house would cost 21 percent more to buy.
Speaking of housing, these same environmentalists support "smart growth" restrictions on building new homes. In Richland County, South Carolina, restrictions fighting "urban sprawl" prevent black farmers, whose families have owned their land since the end of the Civil War, from selling their land. This policy even stops these families from dividing their land among their own children!
An econometric study commissioned by The National Center for Public Policy Research found that, had the entire nation followed Portland, Oregon's environmentalist-endorsed policies of restricting new home construction in the 1990s, there would be a million fewer homeowners today.
Included in that figure are approximately 260,000 black homeowners who might not have been able to buy the homes they live in today. By restricting the quantity of new homes and driving up the prices of existing ones, smart growth essentially becomes a new form of segregation. Yet these neo-segregationist policies remain popular with environmentalists.
Norris McDonald of the African-American Environmentalists Association recently asked the 25 biggest environmental groups to describe their hiring practices and involvement in minority communities. Only four groups gave him the dignity of a response. Among those not responding were Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife. McDonald says their silence "conveys the appearance that there are discriminatory practices being shielded from public view."
A study commissioned by the Natural Resources Council last year found that only six percent of the staff members of 60 green groups surveyed are black (only three percent are Hispanic). In the case of the League of Conservation Voters, McDonald said, he was "not aware of one minority professional ever working at LCV in its almost 30-year history."
This is the same LCV that issued a 2001 congressional "report card" listing votes for liberal abortion policies and increased campaign finance regulation as pro-environment votes while not even listing the "Brownfields Revitalization Act," which provided federal funding and streamlined procedures for cleaning polluted sites in predominately inner city areas, as an environmental vote worth commenting upon. To the LCV, it's apparently more important to keep abortion as birth control in minority communities than it is to make it easier to clean polluted inner-city neighborhoods, create inner city jobs and provide new services.
Environmental organizations like the color green, in all its forms. Other colors apparently don't interest them at all.


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I'm using Mathematica from Ubuntu. I need a normal font to display cyrillics inside PDFs. Any default font is very ugly, letters are too close together:
ExportString[Style["Русский", FontFamily -> #, FontSize -> 50],
"PDF"]&/@ {"Times", "Courier", "Arial"}
Here is the longer example with also Latin mixed in:
As you can see Cyrillics letters are much bigger somehow.
It's happening to every text inside the notebook including graphics, even though it looks fine in the editor.
This is how it looks on MacOSX-x86-64
and Mathematica 8.0.4 which can be used as reference:


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This article is more than 1 year old
Vodafone blocks World Cup, except for iPhone owners
Balls up
Vodafone is still blocking RTSP streams, for the sake of the children, eight months after claiming the block was a temporary measure, thoughiPhone users remain free to stream what they like.
The block was instituted last October, and at that time Vodafone claimed it was a temporary measure while servers were being upgraded. That temporary measure turned into a long-term problem as fixes didn't materialise, and it became obvious that Vodafone's overprotective nature was restricting what users could stream - unless they owned an iPhone.
The problem is born of a combination of things: Ofcom's regulations that require mobile ISPs to take responsibility for the protection of children (unlike fixed ISPs); Vodafone's over-enthusiastic implementation of that responsibility along with its incompetence in doing so; and Apple's insistence on thinking different and thus side-stepping Vodafone's blocks.
Vodafone, in common with all the UK mobile operators, has a responsibility to ensure adult content is only available to adults. This is normally done by blocking all dodgy content by default, and then unblocking users once they've presented a credit card as proof of age.
Vodafone's problem is that their filtering software doesn't extend to RTSP (audio/video) streams, unlike some of the other operators. Rather than just allow everyone to stream anything, Vodafone blocks all RTSP streams then opens them to everyone on a URL-by-URL basis: the operator is not able to open streams to specific people which means anything remotely dodgy remains blocked to all.
And when we say "remotely dodgy" we really mean that: known providers of pornography such as the BBC and Channel 4 both fall foul of Vodafone's excessive zeal (which is inherited from K9 listings which, rather conservatively, rates streaming content). But it's not just video that suffers – streaming audio is similarly restricted. Worse than that – Vodafone can't block by domain, only by specific URL, so every stream requested must go through the approval process.
This doesn't apply for iPhone users: iPhone applications don't necessarily use RTSP for video and thus bypass Vodafone's blocks entirely: so iPhone owners can get all the smut they like.
All this was the subject of robust debate on the Vodafone Forums, until yesterday when the thread was closed with the removal of several postings – coincidentally just as we were investigating. Users interested in reopening the discussion should note the closing message:
Please don't start any new threads about this topic as we are doing all we can to streamline the process for you all to be able to request streaming URL's to be unblocked.
We will re-open the thread as we have more updates for you.
If any new threads appear about this subject we will be forced to close them without prior warning.
So if you're hoping to see the World Cup on your phone best not be with Vodafone. Or get yourself an iPhone... just don't let your children have a go with it, for the sake of all that is good and holy. ®


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The Only Woman in the Computer Science Department
Irene Greif talks about being the first woman to get a Ph.D. in her field at MIT.
Irene Greif always thought she'd be a teacher. "For one thing," she told me, "I'd been told by my mother that it was good to be a teacher because you just worked the hours your kids were in school and you could come home." It had just always been the profession in the back of her mind, the default.
So then it must have been a bit of a shock when, after in 1975 becoming the first woman ever to receive a Ph.D. in computer science from MIT, Greif discovered that she didn't really enjoy teaching—she much preferred research. And so eventually she left teaching as a professor and did what she did best: studying, thinking, and figuring systems out. She founded a research field, computer-supported cooperative work, and has spent her life figuring out how to build better systems for humans to work together.
Greif recently retired from IBM, where she'd been since the mid-'90s, and is hoping to devote some time to encouraging young women to go into STEM fields and coaching them to stick with them—a twist on teaching that she does genuinely like.
I spoke with Greif recently about her experience as a young woman in a field with so few other women, about how things changed during the course of her career, and for what advice she wishes she'd had when she was first starting out. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.
Why were you first drawn to computer science?
Well I got exposed to computers as early as high school. I was at Hunter College High School [in New York City] and we took a course in the college nextdoor, using an IBM 1401. So I started with punchcards and zeroes and ones and machine language and so on.
And what year would that have been?
That was probably my senior year in high school, so that would have been '64-'65.
I had always liked math. My mother had always liked math. She was an accountant, so that meant adding numbers. Over my career I learned about other notions of what math is and what a mathematician does. I liked logic problems, which I think probably drove me to computer science.
When I went to MIT it was early—they were just starting to define a computer science undergraduate degree. It was in engineering—which it still is now—and it actually had more of an engineering feel than I was comfortable with, and I kept slipping back and forth between math and the new computer science, and ended up getting a math degree instead.
There are some interesting things about that. There are a lot of kinds of math that are very close to computer science and I was able to choose some of those things and kind of piece together my computer-science major by making it have the feel I liked. But I think I also learned a lot about how different people think, by switching from the engineering mentality to math and back and forth, and it probably helped me in my career, in that it made me good at interdisciplinary kinds of work.
Can you talk a bit about what it was like being a woman at MIT during that time?
I think I was in the first big co-ed class. There had been women at MIT for ... forever, I'd have to check. But the big breakthrough for undergraduate women at MIT came in the 1960s, the mid-'60s, when Katharine McCormick donated a dormitory for women to MIT. [Editor's note: The money was actually donated at the tail end of the 1950s, but the dormitory took a few years to construct.] And that made a huge difference in whether parents would let their daughters go to the school.
In my class, that entered in '65, we had 50 women, in a class of 1,000. And that was big.
By now it's close to 50-50, so there's really been a huge change compared to what it had been.
I know you say that was "big," but that still seems quite small, at least compared to my own college experience. What was it like being on campus with so few other women around? What was it like socially?
Well, different people were different but, yes, there was a lot of working together and studying with the other women. There were certainly women who have stayed friends forever since then, and I have some friends from that time.
I always talk a lot about a woman, Candy Sidner, who was the third computer-science Ph.D. who, with a group of women, wrote a report, one of the first reports, on what it felt like to be a woman in the department and described the behaviors of men who were hard to deal with and so on. And I just always felt like, even being in the tiny cohort that she was in, having a couple of other women to talk to, made a huge difference in sorting out what's me and what's going on around me. And I never had that.
I remember, though, feeling that it was hard to find appropriate study groups. Because if you didn't find the right women doing the right courses in your dorm, finding a group of guys to work with was just, you know, for young women, laden with this is-this-dating-or-is-this-working-together kind of stuff. So it was hard.
I imagine it's easier now that there's a more even mix and you don't have to be—or try to be—the one girl in a little study group doing whatever the subject is you happen to be studying.
So, yes, I think we got very close to each other in the dorm, but I think it really was limiting and an issue.
Did you feel like the male undergraduates and male faculty respected your intelligence in a way that was equal to how they respected your male peers?
It's so hard to say. I mean, you know, we all had experiences of feeling like the professor kept looking directly at me to see if I nodded and got it. You did feel unusual and singled out in class.
I've certainly talked to people [women] in other fields who were told explicitly, you're going to waste your degree, or you shouldn't be doing this, or you should study X instead of Y. I never had that kind of experience at MIT.
So what was the next step for you, after finishing up your undergraduate work at MIT?
I stayed in graduate school at MIT, and so, in graduate school, my Master's and Ph.D., are in computer science. And I was, literally, the first woman to get a first computer science Ph.D. at MIT. There were other women who got computer-science degrees at other schools before me. So, you know, it's a mix of—it was early, and I'm old now—but also of which schools gave which degrees when. But I was among the earliest at all, and literally the first at MIT.
That's awesome.
It is awesome, but I always talk a lot about a woman, Candy Sidner, who was the third computer-science Ph.D. who, with a group of women, wrote a report, one of the first reports, on what it felt like to be a woman in the department and described the behaviors of men who were hard to deal with and so on. And I just always felt like, even being in the tiny cohort that she was in, having a couple of other women to talk to, made a huge difference in sorting out what's me and what's going on around me. And I never had that.
I know you said that your mother was an accountant. Was your family very excited about your achievements in computer science? Were they supportive?
Oh yeah! They were thrilled! They were bragging! And they bragged that I was a girl among boys. They thought that was cool. [Laughs]
What came after you completed your Ph.D.?
Well, the interesting thing is that I sort of did it assuming that I would teach. For one thing, I'd been told by my mother that it was good to be a teacher because you just worked the hours your kids were in school and you could come home and all that stuff. So I had this teacher notion in the back of my mind, even though I went to get the Ph.D. and I wasn't going to be a K-12 teacher that worked that sort of hours.
My first job was at the University of Washington, Seattle. What I learned fairly soon was that I actually didn't really enjoy the mix of teaching and research, trying to balance the two. It just didn't work for me.
I think it also doesn't work for me to be a teacher. I give good single lectures but piecing together the story over a whole term ... I mean, maybe now I could do it, but I wasn't good that when I was young.
So it took a while. I went from Seattle back to MIT, but within a couple of years at MIT I switched to research staff and started focusing on just being a researcher. At the time I felt it was a little awkward. They have a kind of research track now, but then it still felt like the faculty were really the first class people there. But, you know, I have a whole history of always choosing marginal roles and in marginal subjects of research and so on for myself.
I did become a researcher, and slowly moved from these very mathematically oriented computer-science areas to much more people-oriented work—office automation and human-computer interface and so on. And that was progression over the years from '75 to the mid-'80s. And it was in the '80s that I started this research field, computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), which is the major thing I've done in my life: getting a set of people together across disciplines who would look at social systems and computer systems at the same time.
Can you tell Atlantic readers a bit more about that work and why you were drawn to it?
When I came back to MIT, the hot topic in systems was distributed databases and ways of preserving consistency across copies of databases, and, at the same time, there was increasing interest in office automation and putting work online and helping people formalize business processes.
There was a point when I realized that a lot of the work we were doing on the database side actually resurfaced among people in offices. Even in the way people set up appointments or set up meetings in real life is like the way people were doing the database work. So if you are trying to set up a meeting with a lot of people, you ask all of them to pencil in some times until you find out what times everybody is available and then you go back in the second phase and lock in the time. So things like that, that were being done at a systems level were also being done at a people level, and it seemed more interesting to me to do it with the people.
I shifted to working in office automation, but actually learned pretty quickly that there was also a set of people starting to look at what happens in offices and realize that you could go too far with automation—that if you start to make processes a little too invisible, you break a lot of the important social things that actually make work happen. The simplest example of this is if somebody is walking a paper form around an organization trying to get signatures, one person might notice that somebody two signatures down is about to be on vacation, and you better rush ahead and find that person and come back to me later. If you've got that form moving around in a system and each person just sees what they have to do and then it goes to the next one, you lose the chance for that conversation, you lose the chance to adjust the process.
And that was really the beginning of the notion of who needed to be talking to each other among researchers, in order to really get things right around using computers to help people work together. It had to be a mix of the systems people who knew how to build cool distributed systems who knew how to build cool, distributed systems, and these ethnographers and anthropologists and sociologists and different kinds of designers—people who would be able to take into account these social issues—as they design system.
I feel like a lot of people would say that women tend to be more interested in collaboration, or the human side of systems. Do you think that your gender played a role in you finding this niche?
Probably! You know, it's hard to say—it's not as if the field is totally dominated by women, although we do see more women in some of these more socially facing settings, and it's interesting.
I was in a meeting with one of the most prominent women in the field recently, honoring somebody who was very big in all that distributed database stuff in the '80s, somebody who had been at Xerox PARC, MIT, and Microsoft and so on. It was his 70th birthday honoring him. And at this event, we don't think there were 10 percent women.
The more you get into the straight computer science, the more you do see that it's still male dominated. And certainly if you have the old-timers coming to an event, you'll see it skewed that way. It was quite a dramatic reminder of what things had been like in those early days.
On the other hand, I was having dinner with somebody the other night who was saying that he's so thrilled that the applicants to MIT computer science for jobs this year were 50 percent women, and so he feels like, oh my God, we finally solved the pipeline problem. And I don't think we've solved the problems, but it's a dramatic difference from years ago when people couldn't find any woman—would claim at least—they couldn't find the women to even interview.
How would you say, more specifically, things have changed during your career? What are your observations about the field today?
So computer science overall is pretty broad, and it goes from things that are very mathematical, and you'll probably see fewer women there, to the very social and user facing, where it's more balanced. Overall there are more women around in numbers, and numbers matter. As I was saying before, just having women to talk to, to get some perspective on what's going on around you, really matters. I think it becomes ... easier, for somebody moving through the system now.
In some ways, it's a set up—you know, depending on what you choose—a woman who is moving through the system with enough women to not notice, and then makes a choice that leaves her in her first job, or whatever, and is suddenly in a predominantly male setting, might have more trouble with that than some of us who knew we were getting into that. And any place you go where there's a long history behind you, even if they're making concerted efforts to change the numbers, you're just going to see imbalance, and it's slowly getting fixed.
When did you join IBM? What was the environment there like?
When I left academia I went to Lotus Development Corporation, so I joined IBM when we were acquired by them. I had actually worked at IBM once before as a summer intern, but this was really joining IBM, because of acquisition. It was kind of interesting—it was the first of many software acquisitions that IBM did—and it actually took, like, five years before we really had to act like IBMers. I was still part of Lotus and I ran a little research group in Lotus, but I did start—because I knew colleagues in research at IBM, I mean, it was a preeminent research institution in the world, and I had certainly known a lot of those people from conferences and so on—I started interacting with the research division, going to their strategy meetings and so on, from '95, when we were acquired, on.
I would say that IBM has overall a great track record on trying to do well by women, and it keeps getting voted best place to work for mothers and so on, but it was a shock to go to the research strategy meetings and look around and count the women to see how many were there, because it was much more of a hard-science atmosphere. At the time, hard sciences attracted more men than my CSCW community, but there were areas where women were making headway. My colleague Pat Selinger in 1999 was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her work in databases. That was also the period of time when IBM was ramping up work-life balance programs to help working mothers.
By 2000 I became part of the research division, when Lotus had to be a regular division, my research group started reporting into the research division, and I reported at a senior enough level that I was able to be involved in supporting women and making sure women's voices were heard at review meetings. So I think I've helped some.
I have this other thing. As I've chosen these user-facing approaches, design-by-story and so on—I mean, I have been a bit of an outlier. While I think I've been respected, I also ... well, I gave a talk once about our approach to design at one of our staff meetings, and when I sat down, one of our male colleagues said to me, "That was very brave of you, Irene." So I kind of have been an outlier, not just by being a woman, but by choosing to do more user-facing work in pretty straight computer science. (And don't forget that IBM scientist Fran Allen became the first woman ever to win a Turing award, which was in 2007.)
If you could talk to your younger self, do you have any advice you wish you had had? Things that would have helped you when you were younger?
I had been a terribly shy little girl, and I always assumed that any issues I had, socially, were because it was me. And it would have been great to have been told, you know, it isn't you. But, you know, my mother and father would have been telling me that anyway, so I'm not sure where I could have had credible advice. Parents love you, so where do you get the advice you can believe? (I can't help but add that I realize that I'm very lucky to be able to say this. My parents really thought I could do anything. I'm not sure all girls that get support at home.)
Just watching anyone else ahead of me might have made a difference. And it's because it is so important to have role models that I am still fanatical about making sure women are visible at by-invitation conferences and panel sessions—it's surprising how often people slip up on this even in fields where there are plenty of women. If you don't watch for it, you might inadvertently just have men on the program.
When you look back on your career and your younger self, what are you most proud of? What are the things you feel like you did really right?
I think it's a kind of mix of going with my gut, but mindfully.
I often will tell young women this when I'm doing career talks: I didn't have a planned career. And there's nothing wrong with that. Sure, I know people who know, every couple of years, what their next move should be. And I haven't done that, but I think I've taken the time at various points in my career to think about: Is this working for me? Is this right? Is it time for a change?
It's a being-true-to-yourself thing, and having some integrity about what you're doing, that I feel good about. I don't exactly how it came about that I would operate that way.
I think it served me well also, ending up in corporate labs where you're always trying to transfer ideas. So you have a brilliant idea, you write a great research paper about it, but how do you decide: Is this the moment to fight for transfer? So, product group's not ready, do I stick with it, or do I give up and go on to the next thing? You just always have to be reevaluating, rethinking. People are always asking me, how do you do tech transfer? And there isn't one way; it's what's right at that moment.
I think that's what I might say: This ability to be flexible and reflect and shift directions ... I think I've done right, perhaps inadvertently many times, but I've done it right over my life.
(Image via Flickr user parksdh)


text: Seventh 'Drought Bear' Captured At Lake Tahoe In Past 10 Days; Female Released Friday, July 11, 2014 | Sacramento, CA A black bear is pictured prowling the beach at Glenbrook Tuesday. The bear, deemed a threat to public safety, was killed Wednesday by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.Nevada Department of Wildlife Update - 2:04 p.m. - Seventh 'Drought Bear' Captured At Lake Tahoe In Past 10 Days; Female Released (AP) — State wildlife officials have captured their seventh bear in the past 10 days at Lake Tahoe, where experts are predicting lingering drought will prompt an uptick in bear problems the rest of the year. The latest bear trapped Friday near Glenbrook was a repeat offender that had been captured and released before — just like the one that was destroyed at Glenbrook beach on Wednesday. But unlike the male that was rummaging through beachgoer's backpacks, Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says the female captured Friday was showing the proper fear of humans and was not considered a threat to public safety. Biologists planned to release her to a different mountain range Friday afternoon about 60 miles east near Wellington. Healy says she's an example of what they are calling "drought bears." Unlike so-called "garbage" bears, Healy says they want to be wild and remain in the hills, but the lack of food due to drought is forcing them into urban areas. Original story - Posted 9:55 a.m. - Black Bear Deemed 'Too Dangerous' Put Down By Nevada Wildlife Officials GLENBROOK, Nev. (AP) - Nevada wildlife officials say a black bear with a rap sheet had to be killed after it turned up at Lake Tahoe again this week posing a safety threat to beachgoers. Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says the bear had been captured twice since 2011, most recently last year in the same area around Glenbrook. It was deemed too dangerous to be released to the wild a third time. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the 3-year-old male was spotted Tuesday prowling on a Glenbrook beach. Biologists darted it Wednesday then chemically euthanized it in Reno. It's the first bear put down as a safety threat in Nevada this year. Five were killed for that reason last year. Biologists anticipate significant bear conflicts around Tahoe and the Sierra this season due to prolonged drought. Follow us for more stories like this CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today. Donate Today


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RIYADH(AFP) - Saudi Arabia has announced 13 more deaths from the Mers coronavirus, as the World Health Organisation prepared for an emergency meeting over worries about the spread of the disease.
The Middle East Respiratory System coronavirus has now killed 139 people and infected 480 in the kingdom since it first appeared in 2012, accounting for the bulk of cases registered across the globe.
In its most recent tally, issued at midday on Saturday, the Saudi health ministry said six people had died from the disease over the past 24 hours.
They were three women aged 22, 26 and 35 who died in Riyadh, a 68-year-old woman and a 78-year-old man in the western city of Medina, and a man in his 70s in the commercial capital Jeddah.
On Friday the ministry said three men aged 94, 51 and 42 had died from MERS in the Jeddah region.
It added that a 74-year-old man had died in the city of Taef, while a woman, 71, and two men aged 81 and 25 respectively, had died in the capital Riyadh.
Mers is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the Sars virus that broke out in Asia in 2003, infecting 8,273 people and killing nearly 800.
Like Sars, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature, but MERS differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure.
Experts are struggling to understand the disease for which there are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments.
The announcement of the latest fatalities in Saudi Arabia came the day after the WHO said it would hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the spread of the virus.
The UN health agency's emergency committee has already met four times to discuss the mysterious coronavirus since it surfaced in 2012.
"The increase in the number of cases in different countries raises a number of questions," spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva on Friday, without giving further details of the aim of the new talks.
MERS cases have also been reported in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and even the United States, with most involving people who had travelled to Saudi Arabia or worked there, often as medical staff.


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When John needed wireless for his computer at home, he bought (probably on my recommendation) a Billion 3011N – a USB wireless N device with the Realtek 8191S(U) chipset. On the box it said that it supported Linux, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet (surely that means there's a stable driver in the mainline kernel, right?).
Turns out, no. The device has horrible support under Linux and it's a super pain. The driver disk that came with the box does have a Linux driver, but it doesn't always compile against the kernel and then there are configuration issues and a custom wpaconfig is required.
So John bought another USB wireless dongle.
Anyway, so now I need a USB wireless dongle for my machine and I asked John to buy one of his spare ones from him (he has four or five). He gave me the afore mentioned Billion device. I plugged it into my Fedora 13 box, but it didn't know much about it. So then I downloaded the open source driver from Realtek, compiled it and loaded the module. The system hard-locked – even Magic Keys couldn't save it.
I shelved it for a while, until a bloke called Terry Polzin on the Fedora list today posted a request for help with getting a Realtek 8188S(U) working. I replied saying that I had a similar device and shared my experiences.
I told him that there is a driver in staging which supports the device, but unlike Ubuntu, Fedora only ships quality working drivers by default, so no staging drivers are included. It's easy enough to get them though, just add the RPMFusion Free repository and install their kmod-staging package which (as the name might give away) includes the staging drivers for the current kernel.
Once you have that installed, the r8192s_usb module can be loaded, but the device still needs external (presumably proprietary) firmware to work. Fortunately, although the driver available from Realtek does not include it, it was included on the disk, and is also available in the Billion driver from their website. So, once you have put the firmware in the right place, the device just works.
Here are the steps to get it working (you will need to have RPMFusion enabled, and run these as root).
yum install kmod-staging unzip
depmod -a
wget http://au.billion.com/downloads/3011N/3011N_Linux_Driver.zip
unzip -j 3011N_Linux_Driver.zip "*rtl8192sfw.bin" -d RTL8192SU
mv RTL8192SU /lib/firmware/
Now, plug in your device and check that the module and firmware have been loaded, using dmesg. You should see something like this:
usb 1-2.3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 16
usb 1-2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8172
usb 1-2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-2.3: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
==>ep_num:4, in_ep_num:1, out_ep_num:3
==>RtOutPipes:4 6 13
==>txqueue_to_outpipemap for BK, BE, VI, VO, HCCA, TXCMD, MGNT, HIGH, BEACON:
1 1 0 0 2 2 2 2 2
rtl819xU: --->FirmwareDownload92S()
usb 1-2.3: firmware: requesting RTL8192SU/rtl8192sfw.bin
rtl819xU:signature:8192, version:902b, size:30, imemsize:7408, sram size:9688
rtl819xU:--->FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadStaus(1),
rtl819xU:<---FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadFWStatus(1), rtStatus(0)
rtl819xU:--->FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadStaus(2),
rtl819xU:IMEM Ready after CPU has refilled.
rtl819xU:<--FirmwareEnableCPU(): rtStatus(0x0) rtl819xU:<---FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadFWStatus(2), rtStatus(0) rtl819xU:--->FirmwareDownloadCode()
rtl819xU:--->FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadStaus(3),
rtl819xU:DMEM code download success, CPUStatus(0x3f)
rtl819xU:Polling Load Firmware ready, CPUStatus(ff)
rtl819xU:FirmwareCheckReady(): Current RCR settings(0x157e20e)
rtl819xU:<---FirmwareCheckReady(): LoadFWStatus(3), rtStatus(0)
rtl819xU:Firmware Download Success!!
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
=====>rtl8192SU_link_change 1
<=====rtl8192SU_link_change 2
Now, you should have a wireless device and network interface, which you can check with iwconfig and ifconfig -a.
wlan0 802.11b/g/n Mode:Managed Frequency=2.422 GHz
Access Point: Not-Associated Bit Rate:130 Mb/s
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=0/100 Signal level=0 dBm Noise level=0 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
And that's it. The device should now work with NetworkManager, etc.
The main downside here (apart from the obvious) is that you will be relying on RPMFusion to build an updated kmod-staging version when you get a Fedora kernel update. Sometimes this might not happen before you get your kernel, so when you reboot, you lose your wireless (because there's no driver). If so, boot to your older kernel for a while, or build the driver yourself, or create an akmod instead of kmod.
Ubuntu users should be able to just put the firmware in the right place, as their kernel ships with the unstable drivers by default.


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myTouch 4G Confirmed For November 3rd Launch
If you had any doubt at all regarding the November 3rd release for the myTouch 4G, here's your proof. Just as we stated from the very beginning, the new myTouch 4G will make its official debut November 3rd. If you haven't already, be sure to check out our exclusive myTouch 4G in the wild pics as well as screenshots of the OS. Leave your thoughts in the comments!


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As the frequency of suicide bombings increased in the 1990s, Israelis began to realize that their conflicts had shifted from the conventional battlefield to their streets, buses and cafes.
Now the country – along with the rest of the world – is adapting to a new battlefield, one that defense experts call the "fifth dimension": computers.
The impact cannot be underestimated, said Dror Mor, CEO of the Sdema Group, an Israeli company that specializes in homeland security protection.
"A big part of the next war, wherever it is in the world, will be cyber warfare to silence infrastructure, electricity, communications, movement of planes and trains."
Land, air, sea and even space have been battlefronts for decades or centuries, but cyber warfare has gained prominence in the past few years and will continue to advance.
Though some industries have been computerized for more than 50 years, increasingly complex viruses have made computers more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks.
Several viruses already have figured prominently in the Middle East. In 2010, the Stuxnet virus hit computers in Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, and observers say it set back the Islamic Republic's alleged nuclear weapons program by as much as two years.
Three months ago, Iran acknowledged that another virus, allegedly created by Israel and the U.S. and called Flame, had infected its computers. According to the Washington Post, the virus tapped into Iranian computer networks and accessed intelligence.
And earlier this month Gauss, a virus related to Stuxnet, hit personal computers in Lebanon and Israel, enabling the cyber attackers to access financial data and the social network profiles of tens of thousands of people.
"The tech sector has become more open, which is good for business, but when that happens it's bad for security," said Avi Weissman, chairman of the Israeli Forum for Information Security.
"States have learned to take advantage of this to create malicious code."
As Gauss showed, cyber warfare threatens private companies and governments. Transportation systems are especially vulnerable, said Mors.
"Someone can go in the system, confuse the stoplights and create big economic problems," he said.
A crisis also would ensue, he added, "if you get into the Israeli train system and put two trains on the same track that have no idea that they're going toward each other."
As to private companies, vulnerability to cyber attacks means that the actions of ordinary office employees could lead to a breach in a system's security.
"It's a cultural change as to how an organization deals with protection. You're in an organization, you have a laptop and a flash drive. The flash drive you use with your computer and the computer in the office. How do we create a separation between the company network and the outside world?"
Mor noted that the dangers stretch even beyond national defense and safeguarding civilian infrastructure.
"If they stop the creation of cottage cheese, you think there will be a problem here?" he asked rhetorically, referring to a staple of the Israeli diet. "People can't live without cottage cheese."
Defense threats, however, especially concern information security experts in Israel, a country where national security issues dominate conversation. In fact, last year Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the National Cyber Staff, which is charged with improving Israel's defenses against cyber warfare.
Israel has not fought a full-scale conventional war against another country in nearly four decades, principally fighting terror groups since the 1980s. Still, the biggest cyber threats come from countries, because countries have the necessary manpower to develop and execute a damaging attack, according to Isaac Ben-Israel, a professor of security and diplomacy at Tel Aviv University and former head of military research and development for the Israeli Defense Forces and Defense Ministry.
"Terror groups work with small groups of people, so the likelihood that they'll attack our system is small," said Ben-Israel.
Israel also is the birthplace of internationally well-regarded information security companies such as the Sdema Group. But some experts say the country remains unprepared to meet potential cyber threats.
"We're OK relative to the world, but we are not OK relative to the threats in the region," Ben- Israel warned.
Weissman of the Israeli Forum for Information Security pointed out that Israeli companies do not invest enough in cyber defenses because the dangers don't seem as real as those of bombs.


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B.C.'s economic system needs a serious overhaul.
That's according to Paul Kershaw, a Pitt Meadows resident and UBC associate professor who opened a forum at the Langley Township Civic Facility by talking about 'Generation Squeeze' and the economic pitfalls facing today's young adults.
"B.C. has the worst performing economy in Canada for younger generations," Kershaw said following his presentation on Thursday, Nov. 2.
"Earnings are down and home prices have gone up so much that as a result, it takes years more to cover the cost of living."
If you want to understand how Langley is doing for young children, we need to look at how the economy is performing for the generation raising them," Kershaw said.
"And right now, the economy is failing those younger generations because it's not allowing hard work to pay off like it used to, and that then squeezes (young people) for time, and it squeezes them for services like child care, which is hard to find and costs more than another mortgage-sized payment."
Young adults are also squeezed for money as well as government and environmental debt, Kershaw noted: "That is a big domino effect that's created by an economy that's failing the younger demographic."
The Langley Early Years Centre, in partnership with and funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, hosted the forum called "Through The Eyes of Langley's Children: A Conduit for Change."
The forum was the first in a three-part cross-sectoral professional development training for professionals.
The purpose is to bring an awareness of the state of B.C.'s youngest children and facilitate conversation in order to build support and partnerships among agencies and municipalities.
"It is our belief and hope that this session and the initial conversations that follow, will increase our knowledge base and shared understanding so that we may provide meaningful impact and elicit positive change within our communities to best meet the needs of our children and families moving forward," said Langley Early Years Centre co-ordinator Alicia Stark, leading up to the forum.
Kershaw painted a grim picture.
"In Metro Vancouver, when my mom was my age, it took her five to six years to save a 20 per cent down payment on an average price home," Kershaw said. "Now, in Metro Vancouver, it takes 27 years. That is a massive deterioration in the standard of living for young adults who happen to be in their prime child-bearing and rearing years."
Kershaw said there are a range of solutions. One of the most important of which is to first acknowledge that the economy will fail younger people as long as society tolerates home prices leaving earnings behind.
So how do we commit to the principle of homes-first philosophy?
"Homes-first reminds us that the primary purpose of the real estate market is the efficient supply of suitable homes that are in reach of what typical people earn," Kershaw said.
"If you can make a return on your housing investment, that's fabulous but it now needs to be a secondary consideration with first keeping home prices within reach."
Kershaw believes adopting that principle would spark a series of policy changes, including a surge in housing supply that would create competition in the market and in turn would cool prices.
"Let's restrict harmful demand where people are purchasing homes and leaving them empty or just renting them out to vacationers rather than people who work or study here," Kershaw said.
He also suggested reducing income taxes, and compensating for that by taxing real estate wealth differently "so we can raise money fairly for medical care and other things."
Finally, Kershaw said, now's the time to curb monthly child care fees, so they aren't the equivalent of another mortgage payment.
"If we can do those kinds of things, we'd better position young adults to deal with the new reality of high home prices," Kershaw said.
Don't be fooled by B.C.'s boast that it has fastest-growing Gross Domestic Product in the country, Kershaw warned.
"What makes our economy grow faster than any other province is that real estate is bigger in our province than anywhere else, and that would be OK if we had lots of jobs in real estate, but we don't.
"As a result, our economy is growing based on the following strategy: let's raise the cost of living without creating enough jobs that keep earnings in pace. That's a bad model for economic growth."
Other guest speakers on Nov. 2 included Joanne Schroeder and John Stark.
Schroeder is the executive director of Comox Valley Child Development and the recent recipient of the Max Bell Foundation Policy Fellowship Association hosted by the Human early Learning Partnership.
Stark is the acting manager of planning with the City of New Westminster.


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The definitions view lists all the Common Lisp definitions which can be found in the current buffer. Open a file containing several defining forms, such as the Othello game example in
. and then click on the
tab. The Editor appears as shown in Examining Common Lisp definitions in the Editor below.
Figure 13.5 Examining Common Lisp definitions in the Editor
The definitions view has two areas, described below.
LispWorks IDE User Guide (Windows version) - 25 Nov 2011


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Prelude in F sharp major – This is a very comforting and delicate two-part invention which goes through four other keys before returning to F sharp major. It also has an irresistible up-down quality which is based on syncopation/suspension and enhanced through strong accenting. I don't think that 'choppy' is the way to go, but Roberts certainly does; to me, it damages the flow and comfort. Tureck is slower and more fluid than Roberts; unfortunately, her accenting is rather subdued as is the up-down flow. Horszowski isn't exactly of delicate nature, but he has the music's flow and emotional content well within his grasp with a performance that beats Tureck. Jandó has all elements in order except for a low quotient of comfort and delicacy; the performance is somewhat generic. Schepkin displays much delicacy and a fine flow, but his quick pace sounds rushed. The same applies to Jarrett. Schiff's performance is a fine one at Horszowski's level.
Other less than great issues come from Fischer, Gulda, Richter, Leonhardt, and Tilney. Fischer's flow could make a person sea-sick; the very fast tempo just adds to the problem. I definitely don't enjoy his syncopation. Gulda's relatively slow performance could have been exceptional, but there's a calculated element to it which holds it down. Richter starts off flying through the prelude but does slow down later on; I don't appreciate the fast start. Leonhardt is not delicate at all; he seems to power his way through the prelude. It is attractive, but ultimately not at the highest level. For a wonderfully tender and delicate reading, check out Suzuki. The clavichord can be a great instrument for conveying tenderness and delicacy, but Tilney throws that premise out of the window with a fast and aggressive reading. It has its virtues, but I feel Tilney loses a wonderful opportunity. Cooper chops his way through the prelude; it's not as damaging as in the Roberts performance, but I can't report favorably on it.
Excellent issues come from Aldwell, Hewitt, and Gould. Betraying the common notion that Gould plays everything too fast, his F sharp prelude is the slowest of the seventeen versions. The performance has all I could want except for some less than strong accenting at times; his use of staccato is revelatory. Aldwell is almost as slow as Gould with a heart-felt and joyous interpretation. Hewitt is faster and provides sensational syncopation.
Suzuki's performance seems to me a perfect one. On the slow side, he delivers wonderful levels of comfort and delicacy mixed with superb accenting and syncopation. Suzuki gives me an inner glow; it must be magic.
Fugue in F sharp major – Delicately etched music continues from the F sharp major prelude. This is a gem of a fugue with a string of delightful touches and nuances. The three-part fugue provides joyful emotions tinged with hope and urgency. In the right hands, this can be an exquisite and magical creation.
Aldwell is toward the low end with a rushed performance; he sounds as if he's "toughing it out". Jarrett eschews the rushed approach and zooms though the fugue without looking back; it works very well as he puts a lot of excitement into the piece. Other fine versions include the dark-hewn Hewitt, the highly playful Schiff, the tender and slow Roberts, the comforting Horszowski, the delightful Richter, the angular Leonhardt, the cautious and deliberate Tilney, the urgent Suzuki, and the swift and energetic Fischer. Aside from Aldwell, each of these issues is well appreciated.
Jandó, Schepkin, Tureck, Cooper, and Gulda are outstanding. Jandó possesses great momentum with excellent accenting. Schepkin's is the exquisite reading of the group. Tureck uses much staccato and to great effect; she also provides an 'heroic' element to the music which I love. Gulda conveys great serenity and optimism. Cooper possesses an effervescence that begs for additional listenings.
Glenn Gould is in class of his own. He does everything the other great versions do and also creates a musical drama of highly contrasting emotions. The urgency and sense of resolution keep me glued to the headphones. This is certainly one of Gould's best Bach interpretations.
Prelude in F sharp minor – This two-part invention well carries a wide range of emotional content. In the hands of most artists, it doesn't seem that the prelude is one of Bach's more impressive achievements. However, three performances put the prelude in a special light and let us know how much it has to offer. Leonhardt gives an exquisite reading with a perfect blend of delicacy and angularity. Schepkin is power-charged from the first bar with a sinister element; many of the versions play the F sharp minor for speed and excitement, and Schepkin is the most successful. Best of all is Rosalyn Tureck who amazingly packs intense longing and urgency into an understated reading; the subtlety of it all is very impressive. The remaining versions are very enjoyable except for four: Horszowski, Jarrett, Roberts, and Richter - they achieve rather pedestrian results.
Fugue in F sharp minor – I think of this as the "All is lost" fugue. Highly chromatic, there is a largely unrelieved sadness from the four voices. Aldwell's liner notes point to the "two-note slurs from the countersubject which express grief and exhaustion". Jandó does not express very much with a constricted reading. Roberts, Horszowski, Leonhardt, Schiff, and Gould give worthy readings but are not particularly memorable.
Fischer and Hewitt are exceptional. In addition to providing a great deal of beauty and sadness, Fischer's reading always has an undercurrent of tension which adds to the drama of the music. Hewitt's performance is the most lovely and nuanced, a most interesting reading.
My favorite version comes from Richter. His is one of the slowest performances, but it has superb momentum. You know from the start that Richter is headed for resolution; inevitability is intense. Also, Richter's right hand projection is stunning. The remaining eight versions are very good.
Update on Roberts: Unfortunately, I'm finding that Roberts is increasingly not providing much depth in his interpretations. That is a shame since many other features are in good shape. Roberts certainly is a poetic enough pianist with generally fine pacing; also, the recorded sound is fabulous. But great sound and good quality playing doesn't win the day when the recorded competition includes some of the best artists of their respective generations.
Prelude in G Major – This fast moving prelude has joy and exuberance as its foundation. I find it also possesses great propulsion helped by octave leaps from the left hand and a dynamic descending series of chords at the conclusion. The less rewarding issues include Gould, Richter, and Jarrett; these three sound to me like they're mainly concerned with speed, and the exuberance is dampened. Horszowski, Hewitt, Roberts, and Gulda have their subdued periods where the excitement gets stalled. Jandó just seems to be using all his energy to negotiate through the prelude at fast speed, and Tilney is slow and on the sluggish side. The remaining eight versions are excellent; each has great propulsion and exuberance. I likely would have declared Schepkin the best, but he has a significantly clumsy moment just prior to the descending chords at the end of the prelude. If you have the opportunity, do listen to Tureck's descending chords; they are totally mesmerizing.
Fugue in G Major – This fugue, involving the inversion of the subject and countersubject, is quick and generally serene music which gives me a sensation of lifting off into the sky and flowing through the atmosphere. Matters do heat up toward the conclusion as I head into a pocket of turbulence.
Hewitt gives a three minute performance possessing excellent flow, lift, and serenity. Richter is under 2 ½ minutes, but his major contrast with Hewitt are his stronger attacks which border on being somewhat bellicose; I can't deny that his power-packed conclusion is mighty effective. But overall, I prefer Hewitt for her elegance and lift; with Richter, it's a rocky flight from the start. Suzuki and Leonhardt are as fine as Hewitt, although with more edge and excitement. The gems in this group come from Schiff and Tilney. Schiff and Hewitt are good comparisons in that both have similar tempo, flow, and poetry. However, Schiff has sharper accenting and is more expansive and interesting. Tilney's is a very exciting performance without using great speed; the urgency in his reading shines through. Although not meshing well with my perception of the music, I find Tilney irresistible.
In the next group, Jando's reading never takes flight for me as he is curiously subdued. Horszowski gives a fine interpretation with excellent optimism and lift; however, he gets too subdued in the more propulsive passages. Gould's very fast performance reminds me of Richter's except that Gould has the advantage of greater lyricism as his delicacy is a distinct improvement over Richter's sledge-hammer approach. Schepkin's is another fast and rewarding issue. Aldwell's more measured reading starts off magnificently, but he later has some problems maintaining momentum. Cooper's exciting performance is the equal of Suzuki's and Leonhardt's. There really aren't any pearls in this grouping.
With the next group having Fischer, Gulda, and Tureck, I expected additional superb readings. That doesn't happen. Both Fischer and Gulda are fast and relatively exciting; however, they are still well below Tilney's excitement quotient. Surprisingly, I don't think very well of Tureck's interpretation. She uses a pinching staccato in her right hand which isn't to my liking. Also, she is often subdued to the point of leaving the vicinity. Jarrett is quick, flows well, and provides good excitement. Roberts is on the flat/compressed side; the lift-off never happens.
Update on András Schiff – In other Bach works such as the Inventions and Goldberg Variations, I have found Schiff mannered, cute, out of proportion, and often miles away from what I consider the Bach idiom. However, in Book II of the WTC, Schiff is very good as he zeroes in on providing great performances instead of thinking of ways to be distinctive. Schiff's Book I is sounding even better than Book II. All his best traits are fully on display: wonderful poetry, incisive and lovely accenting/phrasing, and plenty of propulsion and urgency when required. Schiff's G Major series is certainly the best of the seventeen versions. Currently, I have him in the top third of performances in Book I.
Prelude in G minor – Prolonged trills from the right hand, a heavy gait from the bass, and an expansive melody line create a prelude of much sadness contrasted by a few rays of light. I find Richter too quick and compressed. Jandó gives a fine reading with good momentum. Aldwell is slow and a little sluggish. Roberts is expansive but lacks some depth. Schiff's reading is similar to Robert's except that Schiff has all the feeling missing in the other's performance; It's an exceptional and gorgeous reading highlighted by its melancholy. Fischer is also superb with an interpretation of subtle urgency always striving to take center stage; he also provides a great sense of comfort which creates an incisive contrast.
In the next group, Schepkin and Tureck give outstanding readings. Schepkin is very slow and dripping with melancholy. Tureck is the epitome of stature and beauty. Horszowski is very good but a little too strong. Jarrett is quick and effective; he could have delved more deeply into the music. Leonhardt sounds angry and condemning; it's an interesting approach. I didn't think very well of Hewitt's performance; her right hand is sometimes flat and her extremes of dynamics are more than I want to handle.
Suzuki's reading is irresistible and quite different from all the others. Although sufficiently melancholy, there is always an undercurrent of optimism. Suzuki finds rays of light that no other version contemplates. Cooper is the slowest of all issues and lacks some continuity. Gould gives a heart-felt performance which is more than I can say for Tilney. Gulda employs the fastest tempo of the seventeen versions with a "forward march" reading of fine lyricism. Overall, Suzuki, Schepkin, Fischer, Tureck, and Schiff best serve the G minor Prelude; each is outstanding in its own way.
Fugue in G minor – A four-voice fugue with stretti. The music can be heroic, grieving, noble, and even angry. Most important, there's an inevitability that needs capturing. Jandó gives his worst performance; it's fast, loud, and disagreeable. Schiff and Roberts are a step up, but not very rewarding. Schiff has his loud moments and doesn't bring his poetic nature to the table. Roberts again is superficial.
Gulda, Tilney, Gould, Cooper, and Leonhardt are outstanding versions; each has a strong element of striving for resolution and fine degrees of ceremony and nobility. The remaining versions are very good with Hewitt providing the most angular delivery with great heroism.
Update: Rosalyn Tureck is starting to create some distance for herself from the other versions. Gould, Gulda, Fischer, Suzuki, Leonhardt, Schiff, Schepkin, and Richter have been highly rewarding. Roberts, Horszowski, and Jandó continue toward the bottom the group; their performances have not been bad at all, but they seldom rise to the top.
Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Don Satz.


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Messi Hits 300th Goal in Comeback Win
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal as the Spanish league leaders came from a goal down to beat Granada 2-1 at Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday.
Odion Ighalo had prodded the hosts into a shock first-lead with virtually their first attack of the game, but Messi's moment arrived five minutes into the second period as he pounced after Tono had failed to hold Cesc Fabregas' effort.
And soon after the Argentine had his 301st goal for the Catalans as he curled home a sumptuous free-kick to extend Barca's lead at the top to 15 points over Atletico Madrid.
Barca assistant manager Jordi Roura had taken the opportunity to rest Andres Iniesta ahead their Champions League tie with AC Milan in midweek, whilst Xavi was again missing through injury.
But despite being without either of their two midfield metronomes Barca started brightly.
Messi was unsurprisingly to the fore and he slipped in Alexis Sanchez after just five minutes but the Chilean's heavy touch allowed Tono in the Granada goal to collect.
Thiago then headed over and Messi nearly connected with Cesc Fabregas' knockdown at the end of a wonderful move as Barce continued to dominate, but they were rocked when Granada took the lead on 26 minutes.
Carlos Aranda's excellent cross to the back post was knocked back across goal by Guilherme Siqueira and Ighalo couldn't miss when presented with an open goal five yards out.
Adriano fired just wide and Messi had a free-kick well held by Tono as the visitors instantly went in search of an equaliser, but they were forced into a change before half-time as Jordi Alba came on to replace the injured Adriano.
Aranda was then handed the chance to make it 2-0 before the break as Thiago gifted him the ball from a Barca free-kick but he hesitated before taking on the shot and Victor Valdes made an easy save.
And that was to prove a turning point as it took Barca just five minutes to level the scores after the interval.
Tono could only parry Fabregas' fierce drive from 20 yards back into the middle of the goal where the grateful Messi was on hand to slot home his landmark goal.
Pedro then hit the post and had a goal rightly ruled out for offside as Granada struggled to contain the wave upon wave of attacks from the visitors and they were finally in front 17 minutes from time.
Messi's free-kick had just enough power and dip to take it past Tono although the keeper will be disappointed after getting a hand to it.
Cristian Tello should then have sealed all three points as he blasted over from close range and the winger was nearly made to pay for his profligacy as Inigo Lopez and Yacine Brahimi wasted fine chances in the dying minutes to salvage a point for Granada.


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By David Sayen
Medicare is stronger than ever, with more benefits, better choices, and lower costs to beneficiaries.
Expanded Medicare benefits under the health care law (the Affordable Care Act) continue to be available – including certain free preventive benefits, cancer screenings, and an annual wellness visit.
Whether you choose Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan, take advantage of Medicare's Open Enrollment Period to review cost, coverage, or both for next year (2013). Open Enrollment begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7.
• More Benefits: Certain preventive benefits – including cancer screenings – are available at no cost to patients when furnished by qualified and participating health professionals. The annual wellness visit allows people to sit down and discuss with their doctor their healthcare needs and the best ways to stay healthy.
• Better Choices: Medicare will notify beneficiaries about plan performance and use its online Plan Finder to encourage enrollment in quality plans.
• Lower Costs: Average premiums for 2013 for prescription drug coverage and Medicare health plans will remain stable. People who are in the "donut hole" in Medicare's prescription drug benefit will enjoy 53-percent discounts on covered brand-name drugs and 21-percent discounts on generic drugs.
Your health needs change from year to year. And your health plan may change the benefits and costs each year, too. That's why it's important to evaluate your Medicare choices regularly. Open Enrollment is the one time of year when all people with Medicare can see what new benefits Medicare has to offer and make changes to their coverage.
It's worth it to take the time to review and compare, but you don't have to do it alone. Medicare is available to help.
• Visit www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan to compare your current coverage with all of the options that are available in your area, and enroll in a new plan if you decide to make a change.
• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to find out more about your coverage options. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
• Review the Medicare & You 2013 handbook. It is mailed to people with Medicare in September.
• Get one-on-one help from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Visit www.medicare.gov/contacts or call 1-800-MEDICARE to get the phone number for your state.
• If you have limited income and resources, you may be able to get Extra Help paying your prescription drug coverage costs. For more information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/i1020 or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778.
If you qualify, you might pay no more than $2.60 for each generic drug and $6.50 for each brand-name drug. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that more than 2 million people with Medicare may be eligible for the subsidy, but are not currently enrolled to take advantage of these savings.
Even if you were previously turned down for Extra Help due to income or resource levels, you should reapply. If you qualify, you will get help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage premiums, copayments, and deductibles. To qualify, you must make less than $16,755 a year (or $22,695 for married couples). Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some extra help.
Resources include bank accounts, stocks, and bonds, but not your house or car. There's no cost or obligation to apply for Extra Help.
David Sayen is Medicare's regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).


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PG visits Sun Valley, California, to go behind the scenes on how this team of skilled builders and passionate players creates the brand's USA and Masterworks guitar lines.
Premier Guitar's Shawn Hammond visits the Schecter Custom Shop in Sun Valley, California, to go behind the scenes on how this team of skilled builders and passionate players creates the Schecter USA and Masterworks guitar lines. We go in depth on everything from how the company carefully reproduces pickups from its early years to how CNC machines are painstakingly programmed for different wood types and how one-on-one time with a veteran setup master puts the final touch on each instrument.
Part One
In this first segment in our four-part series, Schecter president Michael Ciravolo shows us memorabilia from the company's early history as a custom shop for players like the Who's Pete Townshend, Prince, and Andy Taylor. Then he takes us into the custom shop itself, where we talk about wood selection and options.
Part Two
In the second portion of our four-part series, we have a fascinating conversation on the ins and outs of how Schecter master builder John Gadesi's has programmed the company's CNC machines to begin the instrument-building process with exceptionally consistent and playable bodies and necks—thus earning him the alias "friend of the robots." We also get to see the cute little wooden cows that Gadesi's kids made at the shop while waiting for dad to finish making cool axes.
Part Three
In this third segment in our four-part series, we get a close-up look at how specialized craftspeople in the Schecter custom shop create intricate fretboard inlays and carefully install frets, watch as a finish expert applies a beautiful tobacco sunburst paint job, and observe the back-breaking, muscle-thrashing job of buffing finishes to a lustrous sheen.
Part Four
In the final portion of our four-part Schecter custom shop tour, we go inside the Masterworks portion of the shop, where master builder Tetsu Yayuma—who's been with Schecter since 1984—is so hardcore about traditional luthiery that he looks upon the company's CNC "robots" with disdain. In Yayuma's corner, we check out gorgeously figured and meticulously bound necks, watch as he cuts a Masterworks body by hand, and geek out over the incredibly intricate cardboard bodies he sends out for clients to approve when they've ordered a custom body shape. We also see the pickup-making process and watch as final setup artist Shigeki Aoshima puts the human touch on each precision-made Schecter.